Oh, How Much I'd Give
by anonwriter64
Summary: Written for Round 11 of the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition. Chaser 3 of the Holyhead Harpies.


Prompt: A character never had any powers to begin with (squib!AU, muggle!AU, any other reasons you can think of)

Additional prompts:

#9: (colour) burnt gold

#11: (character) Colin Creevey

#15: (emotion) jealousy

**Oh, How Much I'd Give**

The footsteps of bustling students echoed through the hallways of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They all blended in with one another as each person passed young Colin Creevey on the bench.

Colin watched fascinated, ignoring the dirty looks he would get occasionally, as people practiced spells in the halls. Whether they would send sparks from the end to scare their friend or shoot a tripping jinx at a victim, it fascinated Colin Creevey.

He had never seen anything like it before as he had just been recently introduced to the Wizarding World and he certainly wasn't born to magical parents.

Standing up, Colin decided it was time to roam the halls. Time to explore. He had only been at the school for a very short period of time and the whole time, he had been yearning for the opportunity to see the wonders of each corner and crevice of the school.

He took a brisk pace and kept his head down as he jogged up the stairs, occasionally skipping a step in his excitement. After about five flights of stairs, Colin began to slow but he tried his best to continue on despite his exhaustion.

By the time he reached the end of the countless stairs, Colin was wheezing in exhaustion. He took a minute to catch his breath before looking around to see where he was. A short hallway that seemed to open up into a bigger dome.

Walking down the hall, he entered the dome. The whole room was lit up by a burnt gold colour given off by lanterns positioned all around the room. The pretty lighting wasn't the thing that caught Colin's attention, it was more so the _owls_.

Hundreds of them at least, lining the ceiling on their perches. Whenever one of them would take flight, a whole chain reaction of them would scatter, causing chaos. Colin watched in awe as the beautiful creatures all interacting with each other.

Suddenly, an especially large snowy owl flew down and landed on Colin's shoulder. He tried not to move a muscle as his wide eyes observed every single feature of the white owl on his shoulder. It tilted it's head, almost as if looking at Colin curiously, before letting out a small hoot.

Another owl flew down and landed on Colin's other shoulder. Unlike the snowy owl, this one was familiar. This was his family's owl or, more specifically, Dennis' owl. From the moment Colin's little brother had spotted owls in Diagon Alley, he was set on getting one. _And, of course, _Colin thought with a slight hint of bitterness, _they got him one. _

Despite Colin's jealousy towards his brother, he couldn't help but appreciate the owl he had picked out. A young barn owl with a creamy brown colour had been, in Dennis' own words, his first love. 'Love at first sight,' he had swooned, petting the owl's wings gently. It had been a nice moment.

Until Dennis announced the name of the owl.

Bernard.

Colin stifled a giggle as he remembered the argument he and his brother had gotten into that day. "Bernard? A beautiful owl like that and you're naming him _Bernard_?"

Dennis and Colin had argued back and forth and almost got into a physical fight when their parents had walked back over. As it always seemed like these days, their parents sided with Dennis and told Colin to stop bothering him.

Colin almost forgot about the situation happening around him and fell back into old memories when a soft voice came from behind me. "Well, you seem to have found yourself in quite a peculiar situation. Both Hedwig and Bernard on your shoulder? You'd best not make a move or else you'll get a claw in the eye."

Shocked by suddenly being in the company of somebody else, Colin didn't listen to her advice and whipped around. Both owls flew off his shoulders with loud dramatic shrieks as they flew away quickly.

Ignoring the hoots and shrieks of many other owls above him, Colin looked at the girl in front of him.

She had long blonde hair and fair skin and looked more fairy-like than anyone he had ever seen in his life. "Who-who are you?" Colin asked.

She smiled and began to walk towards him before pausing a few feet away. "Luna Lovegood, at your service." She gave a small bow which made Colin give a small smile. "Now, I don't believe I recognize you. What's your name?"

"Colin."

A sudden rush of nerves struck through him as she resumed her previous pace and got closer and closer before grabbing his hand and dragging him gently behind her as she walked to the next room in the hallway. In his shock, he allowed himself to be dragged without any resistance.

The sight that Colin came across in the next room gave him no words. The room was open all the way around, allowing for a full view of the sunset over the landscape surrounding Hogwarts. The sky was a gorgeous burnt gold colour that eased into light pinks and blues as it got higher.

"Wow."

The blonde only offered a small smile. "You're not quite like the rest of us, are you?"

Colin's sense of awe dropped as the girl led him to the edge and sat down with him. Her words sent him for a loop and made a small spike of jealousy erupt in his heart. "Yes, you're right."

She didn't say anything else, and Colin took that as a chance to ask a question of his own. "That's… alright, isn't it?"

"Of course!" She exclaimed. "If anything, it makes you much more interesting."

That made Colin smile. "So, Luna Lovegood, how do you like Hogwarts?"

"Oh, it's just fabulous," She gushed with a content smile. "Different things around every corridor and a new surprise every day. How could anyone not love it?"

Colin happy smile turned into a sad one. "Yeah, I can't imagine anyone hating it honestly. It's perfect."

She nodded, and the two in silence for a few moments.

In the few minutes that the two had known each other, Colin felt more connected to her than most of the people he had met in his life. That's what made the moment even worse when a bright silvery bird flew in front of them.

Luna's eyes widened as she looked on in astonishment. An older voice left the phoenix, saying, "Colin, if you wouldn't mind coming back down, your brother is awake."

Colin nodded mournfully, turning to Luna. "Would you mind showing me to the hospital wing?"

The blonde gave him a strange look but nodded, standing and walking to the door. Colin followed, taking one last look at the golden sunset before walking through the doorway.

It was quite obvious to Colin that Luna was wondering why he didn't know the way to the hospital wing but decided not to ask. When they finally arrived after what felt like forever, Colin turned to Luna. "Thank you for bringing me here, Luna. It was very nice to meet you."

"It was very nice to meet you too, Colin," She responded quietly. "Maybe I'll be seeing you around?"

It seemed she had finally figured it out, Colin thought bitterly.

He nodded and smiled at her, turning to the doors and stepping through.

"Oh, Colin, you're back!" Linda Creevey nearly screeched as her eldest son stepped through the door. "We thought you'd gotten lost!"

Colin laughed, but it was strained. "No, I didn't get lost, mum."

The pain on Colin's face was evident but went unnoticed by his parents as he walked over to his brother's bed. Dennis looked concerned. "You alright, Colin?"

A scoff left Colin's mouth, but there was no humour on his face. "I should be the one asking you that. How are you, by the way?"

Dennis noticed his brother's attempt to shirk his question but didn't comment. "A bit stiff I'm not going to lie," He moaned, stretching dramatically.

Linda ran over to her son's side to see what was hurting and Colin did his best to avoid eye contact with anyone in his family. He looked off to the left, only to see a dark-haired boy with glasses and a lightning bolt scar on his forehead looking at him curiously.

Colin wasn't quite sure what to do so he chose to wave awkwardly. The boy nodded in greeting, offering a small smile. Colin returned it before turning back to his parents.

The doors to the infirmary swung open and all of the Creevey's turned to the door. The man had Colin had met earlier, Dumbledore, entered.

"Hello, Colin. I see you found your way back alright," Dumbledore gave a smile and a wink to Colin, who was slightly uncomfortable at the attention of the Headmaster of the school.

"Yes, sir. Thank you for sending the- erm, bird," Colin answered awkwardly.

Dumbledore smiled even wider but didn't respond, turning to Linda and Andrew, who were watching the Headmaster admiringly. "Now, you are welcome to take Dennis home for the summer. Madam Pomfrey has confirmed that he is in perfect health. He is, obviously, exempt from exams as he has missed the majority of the term."

"Thank you so much, Headmaster," Andrew offered his gratitude. "You've helped us so much during this tough time."

"It was no issue, really, only doing my best during a very intense time at Hogwarts. Now, I'm afraid I must attend a staff meeting. It was a pleasure meeting you, although under such interesting circumstances," Dumbledore offered a hand to the two parents, both of them taking it.

Dumbledore swept out of the hospital wing, and Linda turned to start gathering some of Dennis' things when a small voice interrupted them. "Mum, I think I'd like to stay for the rest of term if that's alright."

Even Dennis was afraid to cross their mother, especially when she was in her protective mother hen mode. She turned sharply to him. "What? You don't want to come home?"

"Of- of course, I want to go home!" Dennis stammered, trying to recover. "But for me, I've hardly been here for a few months and I'd like to spend some time with my new friends before leaving for two months. Some time to explore the school a little bit more."

It took a bit of placating from Andrew, but Linda eventually gave in, allowing Dennis to stay until June. "Well, we'd best be going, it's getting late," Linda said, checking her watch.

Andrew nodded, walking to Dennis' bed and giving him a hug. Linda quickly did the same, peppering small kisses all over his face before pinching his cheeks until he would say 'I love you' back. '_Mom, you're embarrassing me!_', Colin had exclaimed, shooting glances towards the dark-haired boy who was watching amusedly with a small smile on his face.

Colin finally came up to his brother and said his goodbyes as well, wishing his brother a good rest of the term, before watching his parents walk towards the fireplace and step in. Andrew and Linda looked at Colin expectantly. "Come on, dear," Linda said, "We have to go."

Taking a deep sigh and looking around solemnly, Colin vowed that one day he would return to Hogwarts again.

He followed his parents into the fireplace, sadness filling his heart as his father announced their address and green fire flashed in front of his eyes. They reappeared back at home.

Colin dusted off his pants, stepping out of their fireplace.

"Colin, honey," Linda turned to her son, "You should head to bed, you have to get back to school tomorrow, you've already missed quite a bit."

"Sure, mum," Colin muttered, running up the stairs and disappearing into his bedroom. He jumped onto his bed and groaned, rubbing his hands across his face. "Oh, how much I'd give to be a wizard."


End file.
